IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/lauspo/v150y2025ics0264837725000092.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Rainfall shocks and land conflicts: Evidence from rural Uganda and Kenya

Author

Listed:
  • Tabetando, Rayner
  • Mugizi, Francisco M.P.
  • Fani, Djomo Choumbou Raoul

Abstract

This study examines the impact of negative rainfall shocks on farmland conflicts among smallholder households in Kenya and Uganda. By matching farm-level data with rainfall shocks data constructed from high-resolution precipitation data, the study provides estimates on the incidence of land conflicts. Using fixed effect models, the results indicate that communities in both Kenya and Uganda that have experienced negative rainfall shocks have a land conflict incidence that is at least 4 percentage points higher compared to those that have not experienced such shocks. In both Kenya and Uganda, further analysis reveals that the incidence of land inheritance conflict is at least 1.1 percentage points higher in communities that are prone to negative rainfall shocks compared to those that have not experienced such shocks. Although both countries show significantly lower levels of land conflicts on registered (titled) parcels, land registration does not seem to reduce the incidence of land conflicts in communities that are prone to negative rainfall shocks. Therefore, we recommend implementing measures to manage rainfall variability—such as improved irrigation systems or drought-resistant crops—communities may experience less pressure on resources, thus reducing the likelihood of conflicts arising from land scarcity.

Suggested Citation

  • Tabetando, Rayner & Mugizi, Francisco M.P. & Fani, Djomo Choumbou Raoul, 2025. "Rainfall shocks and land conflicts: Evidence from rural Uganda and Kenya," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:lauspo:v:150:y:2025:i:c:s0264837725000092
    DOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2025.107476
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264837725000092
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.landusepol.2025.107476?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Land conflicts; Agriculture; Climate; Uganda; Kenya;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement
    • O12 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
    • Q15 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Land Ownership and Tenure; Land Reform; Land Use; Irrigation; Agriculture and Environment

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:lauspo:v:150:y:2025:i:c:s0264837725000092. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Joice Jiang (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/land-use-policy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.